I'm guessing that this is the end of Aperture. We'll see some camera updates this year, of course, but not Aperture 4 or X or whatever.

Instead we'll see a new photo editing and management app early next year. Will it be iPhoto+, Aperture-, or something that gives us Aperture+ in iPhoto's clothes? There's just no telling.

But I'd bet that Apple will lose more advanced photographers this year who want whatever Lightroom 5+ will have as the year proceeds and can't stand the unknown future for Aperture. Maybe some are preparing to switch even now.

For me, I love Aperture and dis-like Lightroom. If Lightroom doesn't come out with any more "must have" features, I want to wait for whatever Apple offers. If it's Aperture-, then maybe I'll end up with Lightroom.

The key things Lightroom does that Aperture doesn't, from my point of view, are lens correction and superior noise reduction. But camera makers are doing better at controlling noise and are doing lens correction themselves (see FujiFilm X-T1). I don't know if my Olympus OM-D E-M1 is doing any lens correction behind the scenes. If it doesn't, I would bet it's replacement will.

If the camera makes keep going, maybe all we'll need is a non-destructive version of iPhoto+.